John Prentice, best known for his work on the Comic Strip
Rip Kirby, passed away on May 23, 1999 of Cancer.

He was born on October 17, 1920 in Whitney Texas. From
1940-1946 he served in the Navy. Having survived the bombing
of Pearl Harbor, he went on to serve on two destroyers through
eight major military campaigns.

Having briefly attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh,
he moved to New York in 1947 where he worked on everything from
comic books to magazine covers. Following Alex Raymond's death
in 1956, Prentice was chosen to carry on the strip and did so
for 43 years. His work on Kirby was awarded the National Cartoonists
Society's silver plaque for best story strip three times and
Rip Kirby is an honorary member of the honor legion of the New
York City police department.

Many thanks to John's daughter
Priscilla for providing photo.

Fondly remembered throughout
the industry,
the following are reminiscences from friends and colleagues:

An immense talent. A consummate craftsman with a rock-solid
work ethic. A man generous with his talents, gracious to his fans and a devout
family man. John's wonderful sense of humor was capable of taking twists
and turns before hitting you on the funny-bone. Being with John
was knowing you were at the best party in town... and knowing
John was one of life's little perks.

Dick Hodgins
Hagar - Henry

I first heard of John on the occasion of Alex Raymond's
untimely death in an automobile accident. The question on everyone's
lips was, "Who is capable of carrying on Rip Kirby?"
George Raymond, Alex's younger brother (and my assistant at the
time) told me that John Prentice had been selected as Alex's
successor. The rest is history.

John had a wonderful sense of humor and was always a very gracious
and generous person. Everyone liked and admired him and his work.
He liked to tell stories of his naval career and always had an
appreciative audience. In his later years he was fortunate to
marry Antonia who proved to be an excellent helpmate. We will all miss John.

John Cullen Murphy
Prince Valiant - Big Ben Bolt

I've known John Prentice for 45 years. We've shared
a studio. I assisted him for years since he started "Rip
Kirby". We've been close friends all those years. I enjoyed
John's good sense of humor and knowing him was to know someone
who was always kind, honest, fair and always a true gentleman.

Frank Bolle
Heart of Juliet Jones - Winnie Winkle

I first met John in January of 1960. He was looking
for an assistant to go down to Mexico with him to help him out
on "Rip Kirby". I learned a lot from John Prentice.
It was great working with him. It was fun.
We were good friends. I'll miss him.

Al Williamson
Star Wars - Secret Agent Corrigan

John Prentice was a close and admired friend.
One of the foremost black and white illustrators in the United
States.
He was an extremely brave man. How else can you describe
a young sailor who in the middle of all the strafing and bombing
at Pearl Harbor commandeered an admiral's tender and went out
into the harbor looking for a gun to fire at the attacking Japanese?
From then on he was on a destroyer involved in almost every big
Pacific island battle.
He approached his "Rip Kirby" strip like an illustrator.
After reading a new sequence script, he researched every detail.
Using his vast personal morgue, he checked costume, architecture,
geography, everything. It slowed him down, but oh, it
was beautiful... and it made him one of the top adventure strip cartoonists.
John was a sincere, decent man. We all loved him.

Gill Fox
Side Glances - Golden Age Comics

I stumbled across the tribute to my Dad while browsing
the web. I am very touched by the wonderful quotes from his friends.
It was also very nice to see the two strips. I had never seen
the last strip drawn by Frank Bolle. It was a very nice ending
for a career my Dad loved...even with the deadlines. Thanks.

Priscilla Prentice
John Prentice's daughter

Excerpts from "100 Years of American Newspaper
Comics"
Rip Kirby segment written by Bill Crouch, Jr.

Rip Kirby

Rip Kirby celebrates his fiftieth anniversary as a syndicated
comic strip in 1996, due in no small part to the excellent work
done by John Prentice, who has done the strip for forty years.

John Prentice's work remains on a level above many other story
strips. The point-of-view angles move constantly; characters
make eye contact with the reader; the Raymond technique of the
establishing landscape continues; and creative and unique crosshatching
is used.

Rip Kirby is a mature story strip with a bright future. Many
hope that King Features will realize this and give Rip Kirby
the promotional and sales push it seems to have lacked from the
syndicate for many years.